


What's Sure In A Universe

by Morpheus626



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26961616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626
Summary: Synopsis: Set in 1979.  Brian/Freddie. There’s nothing like a curse from some sort of inter/multi-dimensional beast to bring a band together, especially when it comes with a riddle or two to solve!
Relationships: Brian May/Freddie Mercury
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: HalloQueen





	What's Sure In A Universe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sammyspreadyourwings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyspreadyourwings/gifts).



> My HalloQueen gift fic for Sammyspreadyourwings on the DL server! I hope you like this Sammy; the prompt was a fun one to write! 
> 
> My prompt was: magic and curses, with a focus on saving someone from a curse. 
> 
> I decided to take a different route re: the magic and curse, in that it isn’t coming from something supernatural exactly, but something multi-dimensional which isn’t exactly natural then due to that (because I was thinking about Brian and space when I wrote this lol.) 
> 
> If I had to rate this, I’d put it at M/Mature-nothing too NSFW (no smut at all in this one), nothing too scary, but there is the implication of possible death should the lads fail to solve the curse. 
> 
> Title taken from a line in this poem: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/10/08/on-relativity/

“Nah.” 

“I’m sorry?” the eight-foot tall, multi-armed creature with something writhing for hair, asked with its creaky and ancient-sounding voice. 

“This is bullshit,” Roger laughed, setting down his drum sticks and coming round to the open area of the studio where it was stood. “Curses aren’t real.” 

“Do you see your friend?” the creature scoffed, and pointed to Brian, who at the touch of the creature had dropped to the floor, John only barely able to grab the Red Special from him as he fell. “What is this, if not real?” 

“How are you doing that?” Roger asked, ignoring the creature’s question as he circled it. “The floating thing? Where are the wires? You must have them...love to know who Bri pissed off enough for this elaborate of a prank.” 

“This...” the creature sighed, and rubbed the bridge of its nose with its claws. “Is not a prank. And I’m an interdimensional beast made of fear and space dust, this is just...me. I float, it’s a thing we all do. Like how your kind walk on two legs?” 

“What did Brian do to deserve this?” John asked, not so much scared as curious, watching the creature with a careful eye. 

“I don’t usually have to give the backstory,” the creature said. “It isn’t enough to know I’ve cursed him, and now there are things you must do to save him?” 

Roger, John, and Freddie shared a look, then shook their heads. 

“Fine,” the creature spat. “If you simply must know: it’s random. Each year, on my birthday-” 

“Interdimensional hell beasts get birthdays?” John interrupted.

“Just a beast,” the creature said. “My cousins are hell beasts, but it’s an entirely different sub-species, not that you would understand the nuance of that. And yes, we do get birthdays. Anyway! I must curse one being in another dimension or universe on my birthday each year, or I will die.” 

“Have you considered dying?” Roger asked. “Sounds like a shit existence, I mean. If you have to hurt others to live-” 

“Roger, that’s getting into a fairly deep topic,” Freddie interjected. “Couldn’t we also say that of what we do to the earth?” 

“Oh shit,” Roger nodded. “Y’know Bri knows the most about this stuff, could really use him um...not cursed, to contribute to the conversation.” 

The creature groaned miserably. “Did you really think that would work? I would just...uncurse him, which by the way, isn’t a thing? You have to break it, now that I’ve set it upon him. I would say nice try, but it wasn’t. That was terrible.” 

“Awful rude, for someone who broke into and is interrupting our studio time,” Freddie muttered. 

The creature checked the Timex watch on its wrist, and sighed. “I have an appointment two dimensions over in fifteen lightyears. I don’t have time for all this; do you want the rules of how to save him from certain death, or not?” 

“We didn’t say we didn’t!” Freddie replied as he knelt by Brian, frowning at how shallow Brian’s breathing was. 

“You...seem more upset than the others,” the creature said.

“Well, they are dating,” Roger said. “I mean, I’m not happy with this either, John I don’t think is either-” 

John nodded. 

“But we also aren’t fucking him and living with him, so the connection is slightly different, you know?” Roger continued. 

“We have egg pods, and do not take mates,” the creature replied. 

“Mmhm...gross,” Roger nodded. “You want to give us the rules and fuck off then?” 

“Humans,” the creature muttered. “I’m not enjoying this either! I don’t like spending my birthday away from home, doing this. Fucking mortals on this plane...rude and mean and too moist!” 

“Do...do you eat us?” John asked, clearly disgusted. 

“No! Don’t be gross,” the creature replied. “You’re just...odd, on this plane. All moist with meat and wet bones inside...you know, there’s only one other dimension with things like you, and it’s not even half as shitty. Just so you’re aware.” 

“Are you going to give the instructions to save my boyfriend, or not?” Freddie demanded as he tried to pull Brian onto the couch at the side wall of the studio. “Because frankly, I’m fucking sick of your face and this shit.” 

The creature appeared aghast. “Yeah. Rude fucks...tell you what, let me write it all down so I can just go, okay? I’m sick of all of you too.” 

“Oh look, something we agree on,” Roger spat sarcastically as the creature took a pen and paper from John, scribbling furiously.

“How did you learn how to write in our language?” John asked, only to take a step back at the glare the creature gave him. “Jesus, sorry for asking. Just wondering.” 

“I hate all of you,” the creature sighed, and handed John the paper and pen back. “I’ll be back to suck his soul out when you inevitably fail. See you then, assholes!” 

The creature stomped back through the the way it had come, pushing aside the now-broken studio doors, and was gone. 

“Wow!” Roger gasped. “What a dick! Honestly...if we wanted to know if other universes or dimensions have manners, the answer is apparently no.” 

“Can I see that?” Freddie asked, striding over to take the paper from John, eyes scanning it. “We have time, at least.” 

“How much?” Roger asked.

“A week,” Freddie replied. “And there are four things to find, with these little riddle-like things to tell us what they are? Then...god, shitty handwriting...” 

“They did have to write with claws,” John noted. 

“They don’t get an excuse after cursing Brian,” Freddie said sternly. “Ah, got it. We present the items in front of Brian...if we did it right and got all the right things, the curse is broken.” 

“This is just a shopping list,” Roger said. “A really specific one, but still.” 

“Do your shopping lists usually have riddles?” Freddie asked.

Roger shrugged. “If I’m bored.” 

“But...you know what you need, so...” Freddie sighed. “Never mind, if it’s fun for you, go for it, darling. Maybe it’ll give you an advantage in helping with this.” 

“What are the riddle things?” John asked. “I didn’t look at it myself, not close...” 

“We need something Brian loves-” Freddie began to read.

“Red Special,” Roger interjected. 

“Something he loathes,” Freddie continued. 

“Me, sometimes,” John said. 

“Hush, he’s never loathed you,” Freddie scolded. “And even if he did, we aren’t giving you up for this. There’s got to be more than one answer to these, but one answer must be ‘more right’ than the others. Anyway, then we need something he thought or thinks is lost, and something he lacks.” 

“His house keys,” Roger said. “And...lacks...huh.” 

“We have to be careful too,” Freddie said, reading on. “It notes here that whatever we use as the items will be sacrificed and pulled into a different dimension, so I think that means we don’t get them back.” 

“So that’s no using John, or the Red Special,” Roger said. “Well, what else can we use then?” 

“I don’t know, right off hand,” Freddie replied. “We could get Brian back home, you two could stay over tonight and help me think of things? I can get us dinner-” 

“You don’t have to bribe us to help you with this,” John chuckled. “Dinner is nice, but we’d be staying with you regardless.” 

Roger nodded. “First, there’s too much of him to lug home without help. Second, he’s our friend too, so we want to help. And third, don’t you worry about dinner, we’ll pick something up on the way back to yours and Brian’s. My treat, not yours, because you have enough on your plate as it is.” 

\---

“He’s breathing,” John said as they flopped Brian onto his and Freddie’s bed. “He’s okay for now.” 

But that was all he did, breathe, and seem to be asleep, or in something like a coma. He didn’t respond to stimulus, didn’t respond to them talking to him, touching him, at all. It was close enough to death to be unsettling to all of them, even if they couldn’t admit it out loud. 

“He loves me,” Freddie mused as they made their way to the sitting room. “Maybe...” 

“Did we not already agree that none of us are being sacrificed for this?” Roger asked. “No, Fred. Besides, he loves lots of things besides the Red Special and you. Space...” 

“Can’t really bottle that up and present it to someone though,” John remarked. 

“True,” Roger said. “His parents...that’s still people, no human sacrifice for this...animals he loves, but that doesn’t work either...” 

“This shouldn’t be so hard,” John sighed, dropping onto the couch. 

“Don’t think it would be a curse if it was too easy to break,” Freddie said as he sat beside John. “But you’re right. This one is puzzling. They all are.” 

“Fairy tale logic,” Roger said, thudding into a chair across from them, a foot rested on the coffee table in between the chair and couch. “That’s what we need.” 

“Exactly,” Freddie agreed. 

“Is it funny how much he would hate this, if it wasn’t him cursed?” John asked with a small smile. “Backwards, almost magical logic, creatures from beyond our understanding of time and space...” 

“I think the creature would intrigue him,” Roger replied. “But yeah, the rest of it he might wrinkle his nose at.” 

“Let’s move back to loathes, maybe,” Freddie said. “If we bounce from riddle to riddle, eventually we’ll come up with an answer for each one.” 

“Cruelty to animals, to people,” John listed. “Rudeness in general.” 

“Too-crumbly biscuits,” Freddie mumbled as he leaned back and looked into the hall, his eyes on the doorway of the bedroom. 

Roger frowned worriedly as he saw Freddie’s gaze, locked where it was. “Really? Why don’t you tell us about that? I mean, if all we have to do is buy biscuits he hates...” 

Freddie giggled, and Roger let out a sigh of relief. 

“No. He will give you an essay on it, if you go shopping with him,” Freddie replied. “But I don’t know if that’s enough for this. Too minor of a thing.” 

“Failure?” John offered. “The idea of it, at least. The feeling that someone sees him as having failed.” 

Roger nodded. “One of the latest reviews he was just violent about, do you guys remember?” 

“Yes,” Freddie said. “He burned the copies our parents sent us of that particular magazine. Absolutely fired up about it; I think it was because he knew his parents had read it.” 

“I’ve got a copy,” Roger reached into the bag that held their takeaway that they had yet to break into. “Bought it to burn or tear up myself on a bad day, but I can give it up for Brian’s sake. Goodness knows the assholes will always write new ones...” 

Freddie took the magazine from Roger, and set it by the coffee table. “One down. What about lost?” 

“If we can be horribly honest,” John replied. “He could lose his head, if it wasn’t attached.”

Freddie looked thoughtful. “He’s afraid he’s lost his thesis. Well, not the thesis itself. But he worries about when he’ll get back to it, if he can get back to it. Maybe his notes from that? If we made copies, of course.” 

“We have hands, if you have extra paper and pens,” Roger said, waving his hands as if to show them off.

Freddie smiled. “I know where he keeps them in the closet. We have to be careful with them; I don’t know that he has other copies...” 

“We’ll be careful,” John and Roger promised in one voice. And they meant it; the last thing any of them would want to do would be to get Brian back only to have him pass out from finding out something had happened to notes for his thesis. 

\---

Three hours later, the takeaway had been devoured, and the notes were copied. 

“I think my fingers are numb,” Roger announced. “Good show, though. Two left.” 

“Lacks,” John mused. “The ability to dance.” 

“You would say that,” Freddie said with chuckle and shake of his head.

“I have eyes,” John said apologetically. “Can’t lie about what they see. He does his best.” 

“He does,” Freddie agreed. “But we can’t present dancing skills to him in a physical object.” 

“The ability to wear shoes aside from clogs?” Roger asked. 

“You’ve seen him in other shoes!” Freddie laughed. 

“Yeah, but he doesn’t like them as much as clogs.” 

“True, but again, we need something we can present in a physical object,” Freddie said. “I might have something...” 

He stood, and pulled a ring box from the drawer of the end table near the couch. “I know we can’t...do it proper, you know? But we’d talked about exchanging rings, at least.” 

“How long have you had this?” Roger asked, taking the box carefully from Freddie and opening it. “It’s lovely.” 

“Simple,” John noted, leaning over to peer at it as Roger handed the box back to Freddie. “Now, knowing his ability to lose things...how many extras have you bought?” 

Freddie smiled. “Haven’t done that, but the jeweler did offer to replace any lost rings for either of us for the next two years. He was very kind about all of it, honestly. And I’ve had it about a year...” 

“You’ve not been working up that long to propose?” Roger smiled, then sighed. “Oh, Fred.” 

“I know he wants this as much as I do,” Freddie protested. “I just need it to be the right moment, that’s all.” 

“Candles and fireworks,” John joked.

“Not so much as that,” Freddie smirked. “Well, I did have candles for it, I suppose. Over a dinner, just him and I, maybe. I don’t know...” 

“This is perfect,” John said. “You can get a replacement easily, Brian lacks it, and is somewhat aware that he lacks it.” 

“One left!” Roger crowed triumphantly as Freddie set the ring box to the side with the copies of the notes and the magazine. “Love?” 

“Being right,” John said, then giggled as Freddie batted at his shoulder. “I’m right and you know it!” 

“I do, but still,” Freddie said with a smile. “Be nice, and list something that can be presented in an object, please.” 

“Red Special, you, his parents, space, clogs, animals, music, swimming,” Roger added. “Traveling...er...breathing? I’ve gone too general with it now I fear.” 

“Slightly,” Freddie agreed. “I think most of us love being able to breathe.” 

They sat, and thought, and the clock ticked on towards midnight, but none of them moved to get ready for bed. 

“What about a six pence piece?” Freddie said suddenly. “He loves them as picks, and it’s as close as putting in the Red Special as we can get.” 

“Let’s do it!” Roger said, pulling a six pence from his pocket, and grabbing up the other things from the floor near the coffee table. 

They piled into the bedroom, settling the things on the foot of the bed near Brian’s feet. 

“...Something’s supposed to happen now, yes?” John asked as the clock in the room ticked to break the silence. 

“Thought so,” Freddie sighed, pulling the paper with the curse instructions on it from his trouser pocket. “Doesn’t say we have to do anything else.” 

“Maybe we’ve got something wrong,” Roger said, reaching for the six pence and the magazine. “Fuck!” 

“Careful,” Freddie winced as a drop of Roger’s blood hit the bedspread. “Papercut?” 

“Can this shit review take literally anything else from me?!” Roger cried dramatically, tossing the magazine back on the bed. “Sorry. Just...nervous. This should have worked.” 

Freddie stared at the drop of blood. 

“I can see wheels turning,” John said. “Let us in on what you’re thinking?” 

“Put the six pence back in your pocket, Rog,” Freddie said. “It’s us.” 

“What?” 

Freddie dipped into the drawer of the end table near the bed, and pulled out a needle, a bit of thread still in the eye of it. He pulled the thread out, and pricked his finger on it, letting a few drops of blood spill onto the paper with the curse instructions. 

He handed it off to Roger and John, who winced and did the same. 

Roger put the six pence back in his pocket, and set the paper down in its spot. 

A moment passed...

And nothing.

“Fuck,” Freddie hissed. “I really thought I had someth-” 

He paused as the items rose off the bed, shook, then blinked out of existence. 

“What in the everloving fuck,” John muttered under his breath. 

“Excellent question,” Roger nodded. “No idea on the answer though.” 

“Thought this wasn’t real,” John said. 

“I may have to retract that previous statement,” Roger admitted. “There’s evidence to disprove it, after all.” 

Brian’s breathing was better, there was color in his face, but he didn’t wake. 

“But we did it right, didn’t we?” Freddie asked as they slowly changed themselves for the night, pulling on nightclothes and tossing their day clothes aside in a corner of the room. 

“I think we did,” Roger said. “But...” 

“Maybe he’s just tired,” John said softly. “I’m sure I would be, after all this, even if I was knocked out for it. We could stay in here, in case he wakes up?” 

Blankets and extra pillows were grabbed and arranged on the floor for Roger and John. Freddie drew the curtains over the bedroom window, then took the other side of the bed, only after retrieving a new ring box from a drawer in their dresser. He set it on the end table on Brian’s side, fingers lingering over it for an extra moment. 

“He’ll be okay,” Roger assured from the floor, his eyes on Freddie. “That’ll be a nice surprise for him when he wakes up, Fred.” 

Freddie nodded, but didn’t lay down as he got in the bed, instead staying sat up, watching Brian’s chest rise and fall. 

“It’s past midnight now,” John murmured. “Go to bed, Freddie. We can’t do anything else for him right now. It’ll be okay. Just let him rest.” 

\---

“Something’s burning,” Freddie mumbled into his pillow, and raised his head. “Wonder what Brian’s making...” 

It hit him like a jolt of lightning. Brian. 

He nearly fell out of the bed making his way to the kitchen, because it would almost seem too good to be true if-

Brian, awake and smiling, turning to greet him while John tossed the burning food off the pan and into the sink. 

“Good morning,” Brian said cheerfully. “Rather, afternoon. Nearly noon now, actually!” 

Freddie wrapped him in a hug, pressing kisses to his face. 

“I did burn the pancakes,” Brian laughed. “Don’t know if I deserve kisses for that.” 

“You don’t,” Roger said, tapping a finger on his empty plate. “We’ve been trying to make something other than toast for an hour now, Fred, but don’t hold your breath.” 

“That said, the toast has been good,” John added as he finished scraping the pan and put a new bout of batter into it. “And we’ll get these done right, eventually.” 

“In the meantime,” Brian said as Freddie let him go. “Coffee and toast?” 

Freddie nodded, then stopped as he caught the glint of the ring on Brian’s finger. “Yes?” 

Brian looked puzzled, then down to his hand. “Oh! Yes, of course! And I’ve got a ring for you too...just had it...” 

“In the fridge,” Roger and John said at once, not skipping a beat. 

Brian nodded, and pulled a velvet ring box out of the fridge. “Sorry. Had it in my hand when I grabbed the milk, I think. A bit cold, but it should fi-” 

He was cut off by another kiss from Freddie, who had wrapped himself again around Brian. 

“Get it put on so you can warm it up,” Brian smiled, pulling the ring from the box with shaking hands as Freddie let him go again. 

The ring glinted in the sun streaming through the windows of the flat, and cheesy as he knew it might be, it brought Freddie to tears. 

“This is an engagement brunch now,” Roger declared. “Which means we can’t burn the pancakes again.” 

“I won’t,” John said. “No lovebirds in the kitchen is my rule as chef, however. You two sit down, and we’ll get the celebration started.” 

\---

The rest of the day was dedicated to it, low-key though they had to be. But it was fantastic regardless, and left them both tired when they finally got home and crawled into bed.

“Quiet without Roger and John here,” Freddie yawned as he laid back and snuggled against Brian. 

“We’ll have them over for another sleepover,” Brian said. “Now that I’m awake to be around for it!” 

Freddie smiled, but it fell a moment later. “Look. If you’d rather not talk about how it was for you, this curse...thing. I get it. But-” 

“You’re curious?” 

Freddie nodded. 

“I don’t mind talking about some of it,” Brian said. “I mean...some of it was amazing. It was like I was traveling outside of my body, and I could see so much. Different planets, different dimensions, different universes. No one acknowledged me ever; I don’t know if it meant I was some sort of ghost? God were some of those things weird too...I hate that I couldn’t bring pictures back of it all somehow, the things I could show people in the scientific community; they’d think I had faked it all, that’s how wild it was!” 

Freddie smiled again. “Sounds not so bad. I was worried about that. Where you were while you slept, where the creature had sent you in your mind, or whatever.” 

Brian bit his lip. “I did see other things. Timelines that might come to pass. Horrible things that might happen to us, and others. Terrifying looking creatures that just...roam. Wherever they please in our universe and others. And we’ll never know if they’re watching us or not.” 

Brian shivered, and pulled Freddie tight to his side. “That I didn’t like. That, and knowing that if you’d all failed by midnight, I wasn’t coming back.” 

The color drained from Freddie’s face. “What? The instructions said we had a week.” 

“No,” Brian shook his head. “I don’t know if that thing lied, or misremembered how much time it had given you, but you only had until midnight. Trust me, I...I knew. Closer it got the harder it felt to stay near my body, to get back to it-” 

Freddie didn’t realize how tightly he was holding onto Brian until Brian winced and chuckled. 

“It’s alright. You made it in time, and I’m here. Not going anywhere.” 

Freddie nodded. “I know that. I do. All the same, I can’t believe how close we let it get. You know if we had known, we would have rushed, we would have-” 

Brian gave him a gentle kiss. “I know. It’s okay, really.” 

“We’ll never talk of it again,” Freddie said, and pressed his face against Brian’s chest. “You’re here, and safe, and that’s what matters.” 

“Exactly,” Brian said, holding Freddie close with one arm while the other reached to the end table to turn on the bedside lamp. A childish and arguably useless protection against the things they now knew roamed the universe, but a necessary one all the same if they were to sleep at all. 

Invisible to them, outside their bedroom window, the creature glowered at them before floating off into the night. 


End file.
